For a Ernakulam Parur link, the easiest way is to start from Edappally Byepass Jn.The NH 17 starting from this Jn will be a four line soon. Thus a metro rail link to Parur thru Varappuzha will be easier. It can be extended to Kodungallore later..

Also Perumbavoor can be directly connected to Edappally thru thrikkakkara-pookkattupadi.Private buses are already running in this route and entering city at Toll Jn, Edappally..

Really a glad news pramod,.. but present plan is from Aluva to Pettah only. It must be extended upto Tripunithura from Petta and upto Nedumbassery or Angamaly from Aluva..

Here is another story. Apparently Union minister wanted state govt to consider other
modes of mass transit too. It made no sense as say a bus based transit would require
large amount of land acquisitions, that too premium land costing 50 cr per acre.

Quote:

VS chugs ahead Metro Rail Project
Tuesday February 20 2007 11:14 IST

NEW DELHI: Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan said that the Kochi Metro Rail Project would be completed in four years and the mode of management would be decided after examining all the options.

Achuthanandan said this at the Central Secretariat Metro Station here after travelling in the train along with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation managing director E Sreedharan on Monday. Interestingly the Chief Minister reiterated this position after meeting Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy.

The Chief Minister reiterated that all the opposition to the project would be dealt with firmly. The metro rail project can avoid the traffic blocks at Kochi and it can save time of the Kochiites to a great extent. The state will make use of the experience and expertise of E Sreedharan. The fund will be sought from the Centre, he said.

Parsvnath constructing 3.5 million sqft near airport and CIAL themselves building up another
4 million sqft IT space, Nedumbassery with 7.5 million sqft will offer tough competition to
Kakkanad and Maradu where mega IT parks like Smart City and Sobha Hitech city have
been announced.

KOCHI: Kochi and its all-weather port are set to improve their visibility on the world of maritime business with the Annual General Assembly of the International Navigation Association-Permanent International Association for Navigation Congress (INA-PIANC) scheduled to be held here from April 16 to 19. http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/21/stor...2108050500.htm

European cities ready to partner with Kochi

Staff Reporter

They have evinced interest in tourism and waste management

KOCHI: A few European cites have come forward to partner with Kochi in tourism and urban development.

A platform for dialogue among the cities was provided at the recently concluded EuroIndia Forum in Goa. The theme of the conference was "Urban India 2020: Investing in the future of Indian cities. Leveraging European expertise for their renewal."

The European cities of La Rochelle, Lyon and Zurich have evinced keen interest in partnering with Kochi in sectors such as tourism and sharing their experiences in urban solid-waste management, said N. Anilkumar, councillor who participated in the conference. http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/21/stor...2108030500.htm

Ten years down the line, the airport will have 18 different sub-projects including, a 6.4 crore IT park, a golf course, a perishable cargo unit, half a dozen five-star hotels and an aviation academy spread out over 1,300 acres of land.
And to top it all, there's going to be a state-of-the-art maintenance and hanger unit exclusively for Airbus 380.
This airport township will be funded by Kerala NRIs, the state government and other financial institutions. Not only will this be the first of its kind in the country, the project will also have a huge employment potential.http://www.ibnlive.com/news/stateoft...027-3.html?xml

Ten years down the line, the airport will have 18 different sub-projects including, a 6.4 crore IT park, a golf course, a perishable cargo unit, half a dozen five-star hotels and an aviation academy spread out over 1,300 acres of land.
And to top it all, there's going to be a state-of-the-art maintenance and hanger unit exclusively for Airbus 380.
This airport township will be funded by Kerala NRIs, the state government and other financial institutions. Not only will this be the first of its kind in the country, the project will also have a huge employment potential.http://www.ibnlive.com/news/stateoft...027-3.html?xml

The news piece has lots of blunders... see highlighted ones. CIAL MD said 640 cr IT
park, meaning 6.4 billion. But the news says 6.4 cr with which you can build a parking
space CIAL township has an investment of Rs. 3500 cr which is expected to go
upto Rs.5000 cr. But report says Rs.300 cr. When IT park alone costs 640 cr how can
the total add upto Rs 300 cr.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMen

Good find JMen. Another 20+ giant in Kakkanad.
The moment FAR order was annulled by High Court, projects have started to flow.

Renik,Deepak!!
Is the Queen of Arabian sea project envisaged by Ajit assoc progressing?
The rendering of the 135 ft tall statue atop a 3 storeyed building looks damn cool.

This is an old news but sounds interesting

Quote:

Kochi , Nov. 6 (2006)

The State Government's intervention has been sought in the proposed amalgamation of Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd (FACT) with either Kribhco or RCF as physical and intellectual assets belonging to FACT would impart strength to the State's industrial development efforts.

The Government, therefore, may consider the takeover of FACT into its fold and a high-power committee be constituted to deliberate on this issue , Dr M.P. Sukumaran Nair, a senior technocrat with FACT, currently on deputation as the Managing Director of Travancore Cochin Chemicals (TCC) Ltd, told Business Line.

Financial crisis

The continuous financial crisis, of late, in the pioneer fertiliser unit seems to have prompted the Department of Fertilizers of the Union Government to consider FACT's integration with either Kribhco or RCF. If the amalgamation process materialises, the whole assets of FACT will belong to them the real estate value which itself is around Rs 5,000 crore, he said.

FACT has a vast pool of technocrats and proven expertise in the industry and project management, who can lead massive industrialisation projects.

It also owns large assets including 2,500 acres. The present crisis will be short-lived for a maximum of three years. When it starts operating on imported ammonia, losses were bound to ease, he said.

LNG terminal

With the coming up of an LNG terminal at Kochi (latest by 2009), FACT will make regular profits of the order of at least Rs 100 crore per annum from current operations alone, he said.

The 900-acre Udyogamandal complex is a industrial holding best suited to house any major projects. The site has a fully developed industrial infrastructure and township. Independent facilities such as training centres, guest house, office complex, power plant, water and power supply, Roads, quarters and utility services, hospital, club, schools, entertainment house are also available.

The 1800-acre (including 200 acre lake) Ambalamedu complex of FACT is adjoining INFOPARK, Kochi and is well connected. The complex may also provide support to intending IT/computer hardware manufacturers. The revenue from such a project will help to meet FACT's losses till the LNG project is commissioned and cheap natural gas is available as a feedstock/fuel, he said.

Assets belonging to FACT also include 4.5 acres in Tiruchi and 2.5 acres of land in Thanjavur , Tamil Nadu, guest houses in Delhi and Mumbai, several marketing/ sales depots in own building at different locations. Besides, there is a 7,000-strong dealer network spread over the southern States and the brand equity of FACT and Factamphos.

It has an internationally acclaimed design and consultancy wing, FEDO, and FEW, engineering works at Palluruthy, a major engineering shop in the South.

Major projects

In fact, a major hurdle for industrial development in Kochi is the difficulty in identifying land for projects. With FACT's land coming to the Government fold this problem will be eased. Major projects can take off soon. There is a major potential for a new world-class ammonia-urea complex (1500 mt per day ammonia and 2400 mt per day urea) at Ambalamedu using natural gas.

The existing vast infrastructure and utilities at Ambalamedu remain redundant and unused now following the closure of the old ammonia and urea complex based on naphtha.

It can be used to save nearly 40 per cent of the total investment of Rs 1,500 crore needed for the project. This will help FACT to competitively operate in the fertiliser market, maintain and continue its growth and increase the turnover by Rs 1,000 crore a year, he said.

Another major venture is the Petrochemical Hub at Kochi. Recently, the Central Committee on Feedstock Policy and Pricing for Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemical Investment Regions headed by the Petroleum Secretary, Mr M.S. Srinivasan, identified Kochi along with six other locations as best suited for setting up of petrochemical hubs.

Kochi along with Dibrugarh (Assam) is already identified as site for a petrochemical complex by the Gas Authority of India Ltd with an investment of Rs 7,000 crore in the first stage. The Centre has already approved the Assam Gas cracker complex at Rs 5,460.61 crore.

As regards the Cochin project, a preliminary feasibility of the project has been established and site location is under way. Neighbouring Kochi Refineries Ltd and the proposed LNG terminal at Kochi are expected to provide the necessary feedstock for the petrochemical project. The petrochemical project upon completion will generate a huge employment potential besides paving way for establishing a number of downstream industries.

FACT was operating profitably for 15 years up to 1998 when the turnover was Rs 1,800 crore and employed 9000 people. It is now a sick unit with an annual loss of around Rs 200 crore.

First Knowledge Park, Cochin – Located at Kalmassari in Kochi on a 50 acre land, First Knowledge Park will be developed as an integrated complex housing 15 to 20 biotech units with many a shared facilities like biotech incubation center, providing modules for Research and development in biotechnology, a pilot plant and a business enterprise zone comprising developed plots to be utilized to set up industrial units.

Waaaww 673 ACRES --- 38 Million SqFt , Amazing . I guess once Fully developed this will be the biggest in kerala . Great going Kochi.
Once LDF goes out , Kochi will rise like anything. Many developers hold land in kochi , But they are afraid of the Comunist people , thats why they are remaining silent.